


Love Potion No. 9

by AlxSteele



Series: Through The Looking Glass [7]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alec falling down the stairs...smoothly, Alt!Malec, Alternate universe from This World Inverted, Developing Relationship, Episode 1x10 This World Inverted, Fluff, M/M, Malec, Smooth!Alec, all fluff, awkward!Magnus, though not as awkward as sometimes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-29
Updated: 2016-03-29
Packaged: 2018-05-29 19:27:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6390154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlxSteele/pseuds/AlxSteele
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set in the alternate universe of episode 10: This World Inverted. Magnus is opening an apothecary and tries out some of his potions on Alec... All fluff!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Love Potion No. 9

**Author's Note:**

> This was based off a prompt from annakas who wanted Magnus to give Alec a magical potion or salve to heal something or whatever and have Alec become a big fan of Magnus’s stuff because it WORKS. Thanks for the prompt, I LOVED writing this and hope it’s like what you imagined.
> 
> Title from Love Potion No. 9 by The Clovers

Magnus hummed to himself softly, stepping around Chairman Meow as he mixed together another potion. It’d been awhile since Magnus used magic of any kind, and he never was as skilled a healer as others (namely Catarina) but he wasn’t working difficult magic. He didn’t want a salve that counteracted diseases, just a little something for the common cold. Something to stop adult acne. There was always room to work up from there.

Magnus wasn’t really sure why he was going through with this whole apothecary business, except it was a good cover. And fun, he admitted. Sure, it wouldn’t change lives or anything, but the world had gotten boring since the demons were vanquished and the shadowhunters dismembered. There wasn’t so much war and chaos, what was a warlock to do?

First things first, he’d set up the apothecary, selling all kinds of useless spells and potions to the mundanes. Then he’d set up the side business, the one that would actually help.

He was already building up contacts in the downworld again. He’d sell to them too, but for them, he had a different kind of salve in mind, the biggest thing he was working on being a potion that would allow a vampire to walk in the sun for a brief amount of time. He wasn’t sure he could manage that one, though.

Magnus glanced at the clock as Chairman Meow let out a pitiful whimper. Magnus rolled his eyes when he found Church waiting at the door. “Yes. Yes. Alec should be here any minute,” he told the cats bitterly.

While Magnus was slowly adjusting to dating Alexander and keeping his worries at bay — mostly by focusing all his time on his work — he still wasn’t sure what he felt about the cats preferring his young, mundane boyfriend. Especially Church, who constantly tried to kill Magnus but was all lovey-dovey with Alec. Magnus mostly wasn’t sure if he was jealous of the cat because Alec gave it lots of attention, or of Alec.

Magnus forced himself to pay attention to what he was mixing, even as he became overly aware of each passing second, waiting for Alexander. Alec had started spending more and more time around Magnus over the last week. They’d gone to the movies and out for drinks a couple more times. Alec had showed up early one morning to take Magnus to breakfast. They talked on the phone all night…

Magnus shook his head as he added the wrong ingredient to his arthritis cream. He snapped his fingers, making the concoction disappear so he could start over.

As he was adding the final ingredient, having lost track of time during his work, a loud crashing noise came from outside the door. Magnus straightened up, ears straining. He smirked, continuing to mix the light blue paste. A few minutes later, Alec walked in through the unlocked door.

Magnus glanced over his shoulder, taking in Alec’s slight limp, the way he was holding his right shoulder, and the bright red color of his face. Magnus bit back a small smile, he’d never seen Alec embarrassed before. Magnus still wasn’t good with the initiating contact or conversation thing, so he waited as Alec limped across the room, feeling an odd shiver of happiness when Alec walked right past both cats.

Looking down at Magnus, the corners of Alec’s lips twitched. “I fell down the stairs,” he said, hanging his head.

Magnus couldn’t help it, letting out a snorting laugh that had Alec’s head popping back up with a grin. “Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Just wait, I could sue you, you know. Those stairs are dangerous!”

Magnus turned to face him all the way, looking him up and down. It was clear he’d just come from work, dressed in a pale blue collared shirt and light gray slacks. His hair was messed up, and there was a small scratch on one cheek.

Magnus chewed on his lip for a minute, thinking. “You wouldn’t sue me,” he finally settled on saying. Then he turned, grabbing one of a number of perfectly identical small glass jars. This one held a pale, nearly translucent, cream. “Besides, this is the perfect opportunity to try out my new inventions.”

Alec sat on the edge of the dining table, raising an eyebrow. “Oh yeah? And what exactly does it do?” Magnus didn’t see the way Alec made his eyebrows dance, disappointing Alec as he knew it’d embarrass him.

“For you?” Magnus replied, looking up from the jar. He felt a bit nervous, worried suddenly it’d be too obvious it was magic. But he had to try them out at some point. Plus, mundanes didn’t expect things to be magic, so they never saw it for what it was. “It’ll stop the swelling from where you hit and bruised your shoulder, and heal the scratches on your chin and leg.”

Alec frowned, watching him approach. “Really? How does it work?”

Magnus shrugged, making sure to meet his eyes. “Plant extracts. Rare flowers. A little bit of this and that.”

Alec was still frowning, but when Magnus told him he needed to take his shirt off he didn’t hesitate. His eyes danced when Magnus flushed as his tanned and toned skin was revealed. Magnus averted his gaze as much as possible, taking only short peeks at Alec’s bare skin. He was more toned than Magnus had thought, from all the time he spent with Jace and Izzy, taking fighting classes and going to the gym, things they’d always done as family activities.

Magnus approached, carefully spreading the cream — that was oddly chilly against Alec’s skin — with light fingers. Moving across Alec’s shoulder blade that was still smarting from his fall.

“So,” Alec said as Magnus moved on to the small scratch on his face, then to his leg, rolling up his pants sleeve to get at the deep scratches. “Where did you learn all this anyway? School? Your parents?”

Magnus scoffed, then realized he did it and answered quickly, before Alec could ask any more questions. “No. I learned from my friend, Catarina, mostly.” Searching for a better answer he rambled a bit. “She was…born with a natural gift if you will, for healing and…things. Her parents were…herbalists. Most the recipes are her families.”

Alec nodded slowly, studying his shoulder as Magnus moved back to his work area, wiping his fingers on a rag. Magnus was proud of himself for focusing on his task and not Alec’s bare skin.

“Where’s she now?”

“Hmm? Oh, Catarina? Somewhere exotic, probably.” Magnus knew she was actually in the city, but the lie slipped through before he could think about it. “Feeling better yet?” he asked, turning back around. The healing salve could handle most scratches and aches and pains, plus various other things, but he hadn’t tried it out in a while.

Alec was slowly moving his arm, extending and rotating it. Slowly, an impressed look covered his face. Magnus noted the scratch on his chin had already healed, but knew the leg would take a little longer.

Alec looked at him, grinning and letting loose a loud laugh. “What else can you do?”

***

Alec spent most the night asking Magnus about all his different salves and potions.

“What’s this one do?”

“That’s for colds,” Magnus explained, amused by how excited Alec had gotten over his work. Alec set down the small bottle of blue liquid, moving on.

“And this one?” He held up a small jar of a purple cream.

“That’s hand lotion. With a nice calming effect. Some of the others inspire different feelings,” Magnus explained from where he sat, perched on his desk, watching Alec.

Alec opened the small jar, sniffing at it. “Smells good.”

Magnus couldn’t help but wonder at the tall boy who suddenly seemed so much like a boy on Christmas morning rather than his normal smooth self, always bringing every little thing back around to flirting. Magnus groaned as Alec moved to the tall, thin jars that looked almost like test tubes.

“And this?” He’d picked up a bright pink one. It’d taken Magnus days to get the color right, he was pretty proud of that one, actually.

Magnus felt himself growing embarrassed, looking away from Alec’s eyes. “Er, that’s um… A love…potion?”

Alec’s grin was slow and wolfish as he looked back up from the potion to Magnus. “Oh really? And does it work?”

Magnus shrugged. “How should I know?” He slipped off his desk, trying to pass Alec, but Alec moved, blocking his way. Standing close enough that Magnus could smell his aftershave, short-circuiting Magnus’s brain.

Alec stepped closer slowly, the coy look in his eyes saying he knew exactly what he was doing to Magnus. “Maybe I should slip you a little?” he teased, whispering now that he was standing just a breath away.

Magnus was tempted to say nothing, embarrassment flooding his body and making him want to escape the moment. But he wouldn’t let himself. Holding his ground. It’d become a kind of game between them, Alec saying something he knew would embarrass Magnus and Magnus trying to show it didn’t bother him. It thrilled Magnus and usually ended in them kissing for a while.

Magnus mumbled something and Alec’s grin widened. “What was that?”

Magnus looked up, smirking himself slightly. “I said, maybe I’ve already been slipping it into your drinks.”

Alec laughed before stepping even closer. He leaned into Magnus, whispering in his ear. “You wouldn’t need to slip me a love potion, Magnus Bane.”

Magnus’s breath hitched, making Alec laugh low and throaty. He leaned back slowly, pressing a soft kiss to Magnus’s cheek on the way, his breath warm on Magnus’s skin.

Once Alec had stepped back all the way and Magnus could breathe again, Magnus let out a ragged breath. He didn’t bother with telling himself to get himself together, he’d never act normal around Alec. He was getting used to it though. It wasn’t all bad.

Alec was looking him up and down now, considering something. Magnus raised his eyes. “Hmm…I think you need a better uniform. Something less…old dusty professor. Now that you’re opening a store and everything.”

Magnus rolled his eyes. “And more what?”

Alec grinned his cheeky grin. “Alec Lightwood’s hot boyfriend.”

Before Magnus could get embarrassed again, he stepped forward, slipping his hand around Alec’s neck and raising on his toes to kiss him. Alec grinned into the kiss, pressing back so that Magnus returned to his feet and Alec was leaning over him slightly. Just as the kiss deepened, Alec broke away. Magnus’s eyes opened slowly to find Alec smiling again. Magnus was getting used to Alec’s smiles, but nothing ever prepared him for his full, unguarded grins.

“Okay, but seriously. How do you make these things?” he asked, eyes dancing.

Magnus stepped out of his embrace with a laugh. “I’ll never tell you.” There was a hollow pang in Magnus’s chest as he joked because he knew it was true. He could never tell Alec that he was a warlock. That it was magic.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I know this was super short and I meant to post it yesterday but I hope you enjoyed it! I’m trying to keep up with updating quickly, mostly because I’m having so much fun writing this, but I’m preparing for Camp NaNoWriMo and so BUSY so if the next one’s a little delayed that is why.
> 
> Coming soon, more fluff! But I'm also working on some more angsty stuff and going to start torturing Malec again (even though it KILLS me). I'm also debating my first smut fic... So give my all your au!Malec prompts. And any other prompts. I'm on Tumblr now ( [ here](http://imawriteriwrite.tumblr.com/) ) so you can chat me up there with prompts or just leave them below. Also feel free to come and squeal/die/theorize about the upcoming episode with me! The promos are killing me right now.
> 
> Thanks for reading you lovely biscuits, let me know what you want to see next! =)


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